COURTESY, CREATIVITY REWARDED AT ‘BE A GOOD HOST’ CEREMONY

The Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA) today (20 September) honoured those individuals whose participation in the 2000 “Be A Good Host” campaign were inspiring examples of courtesy, sincerity and creativity, and also acknowledged participating organisations for their loyal support.

Officiating guests HKTA Acting Executive Director Mrs Grace Lee and Tourism Commissioner Mr Mike Rowse presented awards to this year’s winners in recognition of their enthusiasm and ability in raising awareness of the importance of tourism and also for the public to be better hosts to visitors.

The campaign, now in its third year, receives widespread support from the Hong Kong SAR Government, tourism and retail industries, the media and the community at large.

At the conference Mrs Lee thanked representatives of Government departments, members of the travel trade and media for their support. She said: “The publicity the ‘Be A Good Host’ campaign has elicited over the past few years has reached every sector of the community to emphasise the role each and everyone of us plays in promoting Hong Kong.”

This year, eight major shopping malls were invited to take part in the third “Super Staff” Election Campaign. The shopping malls were Grand Century Place, Harbour City, Maritime Square, New Town Plaza, Plaza Hollywood, The Peak Galleria, Times Square and the World Trade Centre.

Hong Kong’s favourite celebrities Ander Jun, Candy Chan, Chuk Man Kwan, Derek To, Goldie Chu, Grace Ip, Hsui Chi Ho, Kappy King, Kwai Fa Tin, Kwok Wai On, Lau Yuk Chui, Loui Yu Yeung, Michael Tse, Ray Chan, Roland Leung, Spencer Leung, Tak Rovin, Teline Ma, Tony Wai, Wong Hey and Yuen Kit Yee all assisted with the promotion by inviting the public to vote for their favourite front-line staff members.

Exhibiting the highest levels of service standards, two of the eight staff voted winners of the 2000 “Super Staff” elections — Mr Vick Yau, of Café Deco at The Peak Galleria and Ms Margie Chia, of Tony Roma’s at the World Trade Centre — were also winners last year.

In conjunction with Next Media Interactive Limited, the HKTA had held an E-Card Design Competition to encourage the young Internet generation to spread the messages of Hong Kong to different parts of the world, utilising computer and information technologies. The innovative entries showcase Hong Kong’s vibrancy through various computer images. The winners were awarded special gifts from Broadway Photo Supply, Princeton Custom Tailors, Rado Watch Co and the HKTA.

The winning designs will be posted on the HKTA’s City of Life Web site at https://www.hkta.org/goodhost and can be downloaded free of charge.

In conjunction with Ming Pao Daily News the HKTA held a “Know Hong Kong” Competition to encourage the public to learn more about Hong Kong’s attractions by identifying pictures in the newspaper. Pictures with such themes as festivals, scenic spots and buildings were posted on 5, 12 and 19 August. Readers who successfully matched the pictures with relevant descriptions received prizes donated by Chow Sang Sang Jewellery Co, Golden Dragon Restaurant, Ming Pao Daily News, Peak Tramways Co Ltd, Shanghai Tang, Tom Lee Music, W’s Entrecôte and Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium Ltd.

In collaboration with Cable TV, the HKTA held the Comic Strip Creation Competition for Hong Kong students aged 14 and under. They were invited to create a tourism-related story using cartoons of between four and eight frames. This activity helped stimulate interest from the younger generation to be more tourism-conscious. Winners of the competition — Pang King Fung, Li Kwong To, Tong Yan and Denise Chan — were presented with their awards in July.

To encourage these young people to further appreciate the green side of Hong Kong, the HKTA arranged a Dolphinwatch Tour, so that they can experience the fun of eco-tourism for themselves.

The HKTA commissioned Commercial Radio 2 to produce a special two-minute segment on the theme “Proud to be a Good Host” broadcast during the programme, Wa Wa Wa, between 14 and 25 August. Ten participants in the programme’s call-in session won a HKTA-sponsored Heritage Tour. The tour, which took place on 16 September, helped them to better appreciate some of Hong Kong’s heritage sites and cultural features.

In addition, Announcement in the Public Interest (API) clips, featuring elements of the campaign, were broadcast during allocated Government timeslots on television stations to promote the campaign.

The HKTA also commissioned TVB to produce a series of eight mini segments to be broadcast in December on the Jade Channel to obtain maximum exposure in the mass media.

The HKTA has established special links to and from its City of Life Web site, and other popular Web sites, to promote activities outlined in the campaign.